Owner
Government of
OntarioOntario Administered as an agency of the Ontario
Ministry of Tourism and Culture

Type
Amphitheatre

Seating type
Reserved seating, lawn seating

Capacity
16,000

Construction

Opened
May 18, 1995 (1995-05-18)

Architect
Michael Moxam[1]

The Budweiser Stage, previously known as the Molson Canadian
Amphitheatre,[2][3][4] is a concert venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
It is located on the grounds of
OntarioOntario Place and hosts many diverse
acts, including genres like rock, pop and jazz. The first musician to
perform here was
Bryan AdamsBryan Adams on May 18, 1995.

History[edit]
Forum[edit]
OntarioOntario Place opened in May 1971 with the original Forum as one of the
first attractions at the amusement park. The original structure
consisted of a vinyl canopy, which was replaced by a copper canopy
roof in 1978. Its unique configuration consisted of a round stage,
which was upgraded in 1976 to include a revolving stage which slowly
rotated before the audience, which completely surrounded it. The venue
had a capacity of approximately 16,000 -20,000 concert goers who
crowded the 4 grassy hills and the lucky few who sat on the 2,500
bench seats under a covered roof. For more details go to
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ontario-place-forum-emc/.
Amphitheater[edit]
Over the winter of 1994–1995, came the controversial demolition of
the popular Forum and the construction of a larger venue on the
site.[5] In May 1995, the Molson
AmphitheatreAmphitheatre opened with two Bryan
Adams concerts before sold-out audiences. The new Molson Amphitheatre
garnered positive reviews in 1995, winning RPM Magazine's "Best New
ConcertConcert Venue" award.[citation needed]
In 1997, Rush performed two nights in a row at the venue on the Test
For Echo Tour. The first night was filmed for would have been the
band's first concert video released on the then-new DVD format, but it
was scrapped. In a 2006 interview, lead singer and bassist Geddy Lee
revealed that the DVD had to be scrapped due to issues syncing up the
audio with the video, saying it would have cost the band over $150,000
and many man-hours to sync up a new recording with the footage.[6]
Although the full concert has never been officially released, much of
the footage was eventually included in the
Rush R40Rush R40 box set released
in 2014.
As of 2004, 3 million patrons have visited the venue. The amphitheater
hosted Canadian rapper Drake's annual OVO Festival from its inception
in 2010 until 2015. The Festival has featured performances by Drake,
Eminem, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and
A$AP RockyA$AP Rocky among others.
Van HalenVan Halen performed two nights in a row at the Molson in August 1995;
the shows have been recorded for a never-released live album. Depeche
Mode performed at the amphitheatre three times: the first one was on
June 16, 2001 during their Exciter Tour. The second one was on July
24, 2009 during their Tour of the Universe, in front of a sold out
crowd of 16,128 people. The third one was on September 1, 2013 during
their Delta Machine Tour, in front of a sold out crowd of 16,110
people. The 2009 show was recorded for the group's live albums project
Recording the Universe.
On January 6, 2017, it was announced that the Molson Canadian
AmphitheatreAmphitheatre was renamed "Budweiser Stage", as part of a partnership
between
Labatt Breweries of CanadaLabatt Breweries of Canada and Live Nation.[7]
Specifications[edit]
The music venue is open yearly from May to September, due to its
outdoor configuration. The amphitheatre has a capacity of
approximately 16,000. There are 5,500 reserved seats under the
60-foot-high covered roof, 3,500 seats under the open sky, and 7,000
seats on the grass bowl. The floor area (100 level) has an unreserved
capacity of 1,000. There are also Club and VIP seats for season
ticket-holders. Two large video screens flank the stage, while two
video cubes hang from the rear of the covered roof for those sitting
on the lawns. The video support system gives everyone in the audience
a closeup of the performers on stage.
Echo Beach[edit]
In 2012, a new concert venue named Echo Beach was opened just east of
the amphitheatre. This general admission venue has a capacity of
approximately 5,000, which includes raised VIP viewing platforms.
OntarioOntario Place revitalization plans[edit]
In 2012 the park at
OntarioOntario place remained closed with the intention
of revitalization. A committee headed by
John ToryJohn Tory has recommended the
return of the
OntarioOntario Place Forum as a centerpiece of the
revitalization plans. The Amphitheatre's future, as a result, has been
called into question.
See also[edit]